UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 

CIRCULAR No. 164 

April, 1917 
Kevised May, 1923 

SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 

By A. H. HENDEICKSON 




Fig. 1. — Class at University Farm, Davis, planting strawberries on raised beds. 

Small fruits, especially the brambles or fruits of the raspberry 
and blackberry type, are grown in nearly all parts of California. The 
plantings vary from the few bushes or plants cultivated for home 
use to plantations in which several hundred acres may be devoted 
to the production of enough berries to supply both local and distant 
markets with fresh fruit and to allow a considerable portion of the 
surplus to be canned. Nearly all of the different kinds of small 
fruits have been found to be adapted to California soil and climatic 
conditions and, although some of the members of this class of fruits 
cannot be grown successfully on a commercial scale in the hot, dry 
sections of the state, with judicious handling they may often be 



2 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION 

made to thrive in the home garden. The home garden can be made 
to supply fresh berries of various kinds for the table throughout 
a long season. 

The small fruit industry presents a number of problems not 
encountered in the production of tree fruits, many of whith must 
be solved by more precise methods than those so largely used by 
deciduous fruit-growers. Berries are a soft, perishable product and 
must be handled accordingly; the bushes are short-lived, shallow- 
rooted, and subject to injury by drought. On the other hand, if 
properly managed, the small fruit garden or the commercial berry 
plantation can be made to yield large profits, often as soon as a year 
or two after planting. To accomplish the best results, however, 
painstaking attention must be paid to all the minor details connected 
with the production and marketing of the crop. Broadly speaking, 
this class of fruit demands the personal attention of the owner or 
proprietor, and very often the greatest success is obtained when 
practically all the work can be done by the members of the immediate 
family. 

There are a number of general factors involved in the success or 
failure of a berry plantation, the most important of which are accessi- 
bility to market ; labor ; location ; water-supply ; and care or manage- 
ment of the planting. Other factors, such as insects and diseases, 
pruning methods and choice of varieties, while important, are more 
nearly under the control of the grower. 

Because the crop is very perishable and often ripens within a 
comparatively short season, the small fruit plantation must have a 
market that may be reached quickly. The market should be either 
within easy driving distance of the plantation or situated on a rail- 
road, in which case the shipping station should be near to the planta- 
tion. Jolting over rough country roads in a wagon or auto-truck 
during the hot portion of the day often causes berries, especially 
if over-ripe, to become mushy and to deteriorate very quickly. The 
market should be large enough to use the fruit brought to it for 
disposal without danger of the supply exceeding the demand, as 
otherwise the price received for the product will be reduced below 
the point at which this fruit can be produced profitably. In case 
the near-by markets cannot use the crop, other outlets such as more 
distant mark ts or a cannery must be sought. 

Picking berries is slow, tedious work and the result of a day's 
labor is often not more than a crate or two. The entire patch must 
be picked every day or at least every other day, at the height of the 
season, to insure berries of a uniform degree of ripeness. The opera- 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



tion requires a great deal of stooping and reaching for the fruit near 
the ground, and in the case of the brambles the picker is often con- 
siderably scratched by the prickers on the plant during the course 
of a day's work. Berries are usually picked on a piece-work basis 
and a comparatively low price is paid for each quart or crate picked. 
For these reasons, the largest part of the work is done by women 
and children or such itinerant labor as may be found during the 
season. Location near some fairly large city in a district where 
such help can be obtained is absolutely essential. 




Fig. 2. — Strawberries are sometimes grown in narrow rows on raised beds. 

The choice of the site for the plantation is very important. A 
region subject to late spring frosts must be avoided. Bottom lands 
or swales into which cold air drains from the higher surrounding 
elevations are hazardous because of the danger of the buds or flowers 
being frozen. The site should be chosen to allow the heavy, cold 
air to drain away from the plantation to lower levels. The aspect 
of the plantation may influence the season of ripening to a con- 
siderable extent. With small fruits a warm exposure may cause the 
fruit to ripen several days or a week earlier than the same variety 
planted a few hundred yards away on a site which faces in another 
direction. Earliness is usually desirable with small fruits as it 
is the early fruits that command the best prices. 



4 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

Small fruits belong to a shallow-rooted class of plants. This 
is especially true of the strawberry which seldom sends its roots 
below fourteen or sixteen inches. Plants of this type, with a few 
exceptions, are not adapted to sending roots to a great depth for 
moisture, hence the available water in the soil, whether supplied 
by rains or by irrigation, must be carefully investigated before 
planting. There must be sufficient moisture in the soil during the 
growing season to keep the plants green and vigorous. At no time 
should they be allowed to wilt or show signs of drought. Lack of 
moisture is shown directly by weakness of the new growth and in- 
directly by the subsequent smaller crops during the succeeding years. 
Red spider is usually serious in berry fields which are allowed to 
suffer from lack of moisture. With a few notable exceptions, the 
small-fruit sections of California are in irrigated districts. 

To a great extent the success of a small-fruit plantation depends 
upon the care given it. The operations necessary to the production 
of a crop of this class of fruits require more hand labor of an irk- 
some nature than do those necessary for the tree fruits. The plants 
are small and set close together which necessitates much hand hoe- 
ing in place of the horse cultivation which suffices with tree fruits. 
Weeds must be kept down, as they draw upon the soil moisture 
in the area occupied by the roots of the plants under cultivation. 
Operations of planting, pruning, and trellising require a great deal 
of hand labor because of the low growing nature of the plants, and 
because of the large number of plants that are planted per acre. 
Tree fruits often produce fairly satisfactory crops when grown under 
the more or less haphazard methods so commonly followed by decidu- 
ous fruit growers, and the evil effects of the lack of pruning or spray- 
ing may not become apparent for a few years; but with small fruits 
this is not the case. A berry plantation neglected for one season 
produces, as a rule, a much smaller crop the following year. On 
the other hand, this type of fruit responds quickly and readily to 
proper pruning, thorough cultivation, and careful irrigation. 

SOILS 

The brambles, i.e., blackberries, raspberries, dewberries, and logan- 
berries, are adapted to being grown on a wide range of soils. Success 
with this class of fruits depends more on the skill of the individual 
grower and other factors, such as site, suitable labor supply, and 
accessibility to market, than to the choice of any particular soil. 
However, most of the successful plantings are found on soils rang- 
ing from sandy loam to clay loam types. As these plants are fairly 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



deep-rooted the depth of the soil must be given special consideration. 
Strawberries thrive on soils of the clay loam type, but are also 
found growing with considerable success on sandy loams and on the 
loose gravelly soils of some of the lower foothill districts. In general, 
the lighter types of soils are easier to handle, but the fruit is often 
small if not given proper cultivation and irrigation, while, on the 
other hand, the heavier types of soils, though harder to cultivate, 
produce large crops of fruit. Currants and gooseberries are two 
fruits generally adapted to the heavier soils used for the growing of 
fruit, and often grow well on soil which is wet for a considerable 
portion of the year. 



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Fig. 3. — Strawberry plant, variety Oregon grown under level culture system. 

For all small fruits, it is desirable to have the soil well supplied 
with humus, for ease in cultivation and conservation of moisture. 
This material is best supplied by plowing under cover crops or 
barnyard manure. 

PROPAGATION 

One of the factors that has an important effect on success in 
growing small fruits is the ease and readiness with which a new 
planting may be started. New plants may be obtained from older 
plantations with but little trouble, or they may be purchased from 



6 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

a nursery at comparatively low prices. This factor is of special 
significance to the man of limited means just starting to grow fruit. 
Many of the brambles propagate naturally and abundantly of their 
own accord, while strawberries start annually more new plants than 
should be allowed to grow if best results are to be obtained from the 
plantation. Currants and gooseberries root readily from cuttings. 
The result is that new plantings may be set out, using older plant- 
ings already in existence as a source of supply, with no cost except 
for the labor of collecting and setting out new plants. 

Blackberries and Red Raspberries. — Blackberries and red rasp- 
berries may be propagated either by root cuttings or by suckers. 
These suckers, which appear wherever a root has been cut or injured, 
may be dug up and used as new plants, care being taken to secure 
a large portion of the roots. This method of securing new plants 
is very commonly used in this state and has proved to be satis- 
factory in every respect. The method of securing plants by root 
cuttings, which is a common procedure in nurseries, is to dig up a 
number of old plants and cut the roots into short pieces, three 
inches or less in length. These roots are* sown in rows in carefully 
prepared nursery soil. If not allowed to dry out and if given careful 
cultivation they produce plants large enough to set out in one year 
from the time of making the cuttings. 

Dewberries and Loganberries. — Nearly all of the trailing vari- 
eties of dewberries and loganberries and the black raspberries are 
usually propagated by tip layering. The method of obtaining plants 
in this way is to cover the end of the canes with a shovelful of 
earth, during the latter part of the summer. The portion of the 
shoot which is covered sends down roots from the nodes, and forms 
a plant which is ready for planting the following spring. 

Currants and Gooseberries. — New plants of currants and goose- 
berries are usually obtained from cuttings. These fruits may also 
be propagated by mound layering. Cuttings are made about seven 
to ten inches long from matured or ripened one-year-old wood. They 
may be cut at any time during the dormant season, and set out 
immediately in rows or stored in moist sand in a cellar or other 
cool storage place until spring. The cuttings are planted in nursery 
rows with one or two buds above the surface, care being exercised 
to see that the soil is firmly pressed around the portion which is 
buried. The resulting plants are grown in the nursery for one 
or two years. It is the practice in some sections of California to 
set these cuttings out in permanent form, instead of growing plants 
in the nursery row for a year. 



Circular 164] small fruit culture in California 7 

Strawberries. — Strawberries propagate by means of runners or 
offsets. During the growing season, the old established strawberry 
plants send out in all directions slender stems eight to fourteen or 
sixteen inches long. Each alternate node, if in contact with the 
ground, takes root and forms a new plant. The roots become estab- 
lished in the ground and later the slender stem connecting the old 
plant and the young dies, leaving the new plants independent and 




Fig. 4. — Method of growing strawberries on raised beds. Strawberries are 
often grown as an intercrop in orchards until the trees come into bearing. 

in turn ready to send out runners. These young plants, before they 
have produced fruit, are the most desirable ones for planting in 
new plantations. The ease of gathering new plants should not lead 
to carelessness in the matter of selecting the best stock available, and 
certain precautions should be observed in collecting new plants 
from old plantations. Plants from diseased or insect-infested areas 
should be discarded and only clean, healthy ones chosen. Care- 
lessness in the choice of plants often leads to the introduction of 
diseases and insects into sections that may previously have been clean. 

PLANTING 
The brambles and the bush fruits are planted so that they may 
be easily cultivated in one or two directions. They are planted in 



8 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA— EXPERIMENT STATION 

hills or rows to conform to the growth of the plant and the nature 
of the site upon which they are set. Strawberries are usually set 
in rows and cultivated in one direction only, relying on the use of 
the hand hoe for stirring the soil between the plants in the row. 
The planting distance is governed by the ultimate size of the plants 
and convenience in cultivating and picking. Whenever practicable, 
these fruits should be planted early in the season, preferably not 
later than February. A larger number of plants survive when 
planted early than is the case where the planting is delayed until 
March or April. Gooseberries and currants start to grow very early 
in the season and, hence, should be planted in the autumn. Straw- 
berries are planted in the spring months or during the fall and early 
winter. 

The preparation of the soil for the new berry plantations should 
be as thorough as possible. On account of the shallowness of the 
feeding roots of small fruits, the effort expended in preparing the 
soil before planting will be repaid by the vigor and thrift of the 
young plants. The soil should be plowed deeply in time to allow 
the weeds and cover crops to decompose before the plants are set 
out, and the soil should be as fine and friable as it is possible to 
make it by frequent harrowings. A mellow soil, free from lumps, 
enables the young plants to become established quickly, and a larger 
percentage live through the first year than is the case when the 
soil is carelessly prepared. 

Blackberries. — Blackberries should be set out during February 
or March in order to receive the benefit of the late rains. The plants 
ordinarily require but little care in planting. The long, slender 
roots are cut off, and the plants are set at the same depth they have 
been grown in the nursery. A hole is opened by a spade, the roots 
are spread out in a fan shape and the earth is crowded firmly around 
them so that all portions of the root-system come into immediate 
contact with the soil. The old stem is usually left as a marker or 
guide in cultivating before the new shoots, which usually appear 
from the crown, can be seen. Instead of opening each hole with a 
spade or shovel, a furrow may be plowed along the row and the plants 
placed along the landside and handled in much the same way as that 
just described. Blackberries of an upright-growing habit such as 
the Lawton are usually planted in rows 6 to 8 feet apart with the 
plants 4 to 6 feet apart in the rows. If planted in hills, they are 
usually set 6 to 8 feet apart each way. The trailing varieties, like 
the Mammoth, are planted in rows about 8 feet apart and 8 to 16 
feet apart in the rows. Loganberries, Phenomenal loganberries, and 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



dewberries are trailing" in habit and are spaced about the same as 
the Mammoth. 

Raspberries. — No definite standard planting distance can be set 
for raspberries. The distances vary according to the variety and 
the district where grown. If planted in hills, the plants are from 
3 to 6 feet apart each way. If planted in rows, the rows are ordi- 
narily 6 to 8 feet apart and the rows themselves may be a solid mass 
of plants or may have the separate plants from iy 2 to 4 or 6 feet 
apart. Ordinarily the black raspberry requires more room than 
do the red varieties because it is more spreading in nature. 




Fig. 5. — Strawberries being grown as an intercrop in a young plum orchard 
Under level culture system. 



Currants and Gooseberries. — When planted in rows, currants and 
gooseberries are planted 2% to 5 feet apart in the rows and the 
rows are 5 to 6 feet apart. In hills, the plants are set on the square 
system, 5 or 6 feet apart each way. 

Strawberries. — Strawberries are planted according to different 
methods that are influenced by the irrigation practice in a given 
district. The necessity for frequent irrigation has led to the adop- 
tion of a number of cultural methods that will be discussed briefly 
in the following paragraphs. As a rule, strawberries in California 



10 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

are grown in rows rather than in hills, and greater acreages are 
grown in " raised beds" than are grown in " level culture." 

The raised bed (fig. 1) differs from level culture in that the 
plants are grown on a wide row slightly raised above the interven- 
ing spaces which are used for irrigating, cultivating, and as paths 
for the pickers to walk upon. The sunken spaces in the raised-bed 
system are permanent during the continuation of the plantation, 
while the irrigation furrows in the level-culture system are made 
for each irrigation or at the beginning of each season. The width 
of the beds and the furrows vary greatly in the different sections. 
The type of soil influences the width of the bed; thus, if lateral 
percolation is rapid and the entire bed is moistened quickly, the 
width of the bed may be greater than in soils where the water soaks 
in slowly. The common width of the raised bed and its adjacent 
furrow is 4 to 5 feet ; the bed itself occupying considerably more than 
half of this width. The beds are raised from 3 to 6 inches above the 
furrows and are 200 to 300 feet long. The tendency with most growers 
is to make the raised beds too wide and difficulty is then experienced 
in properly moistening the soil in the middle of the bed. 

In sections where the beds are narrow, plants are set out in a 
single row in the center of the bed from 8 to 10 inches to 24 inches 
apart (fig. 2), according to the rate at which the new runners are 
produced and the number of plants available at the time of plant- 
ing. Runners or offsets are allowed to take root in the row itself 
and not to spread laterally, the aim being to maintain the width of 
the row at 10 or 12 inches. Runners spreading laterally are either 
cut off or moved to the center of the row. Where the beds are wider 
and the wide "matted row," as it is called, is desired, the plants 
are set out in a double row (fig. 1), the rows being 18 to 24 inches 
apart, and 3 to 4 inches from the edge of the bed. The plants are 
allowed to spread toward the edge of the bed and toward the center, 
forming a solid mat of plants. A variation of the matted-row system 
is to provide a rather narrow but deep furrow for irrigation extend- 
ing for the full length of the row in the center of the bed. The 
paths, in the latter case, are not sunk below the beds, but maintained 
on the same level. When level culture (fig. 3) is practiced, the 
plants are set out 10 to 14 or 16 inches apart in the row, and main- 
tained as separate hills, or allowed to form solid rows. Irrigation 
water is applied by shallow furrows made, whenever needed, as 
close to the rows of plants as possible. 

The raised beds can be irrigated more conveniently than can the 
level-culture plantings, as the ditches are permanent and are not 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



11 



destroyed by cultivation. Frequently, however, water is applied 
without any attempt to cultivate, and the result is a hard-baked 
path between the rows. The level-culture system is adapted to 
thoroughness in cultivation and stirring of the soil between the plants. 
Strawberries require greater care in planting than do most of 
the small fruits. Only young plants having light-colored roots should 
be used; the older plants having dark brown roots should be dis- 
carded. The plants must not be allowed to dry out during the 




Fig. 6. — Bush berries are irrigated in shallow furrows close to the row. 

planting operations, but should preferably be wrapped in wet burlap 
or kept in pails of water. The outside whorl of leaves should be 
removed when the plant is set out, leaving only one or two of the 
small center leaves. The plant must be set firmly at the same depth 
at which it had been growing. If set too high, or if the soil is not 
sufficiently firmed, the young plants will dry out and die; and if set 
too low and the crown of the plant is covered with moist soil, the 
plant quickly rots. 



12 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

CULTIVATION 

Shallow cultivation should be the rule with all small fruits. The 
feeding roots are comparatively near to the surface and are destroyed 
bjr deep cultivation. With the brambles, a great many roots are 
broken by deep cultivation, and this practice results in producing 
a large number of suckers in the middle of the row which must be 
cut out with a hoe. In other cases, an entire plant is often pulled 
out by catching the cultivator under one of the main roots. The 
land should be plowed in the spring, as shallow as possible and still 
turn over a clean furrow and completely cover the trash or cover 
crop that may be on the ground. The plowing should be followed 
by frequent shallow stirring preferably with a light, fine-toothed 
implement. 

Blackberries, Loganberries, Currants, and Gooseberries. — These 
may be plowed deeper toward the middle of the row and shallower 
when close to the plants. If the furrows are thrown away from 
the row it is much easier to hoe out any weeds that may be growing 
in the row itself, while, on the other hand, if the furrow is thrown 
toward the row, these weeds are covered up, only to appear later in 
the season. Unevenness, due to leaving the back-furrow or dead 
furrow in the middle of the row is easily remedied by a few culti- 
vations. Another plan, adopted by many growers, is to harrow or 
disc the plantation instead of plowing. This plan works satisfactorily 
if done before the cover crop has reached a size where it can only 
be covered by plowing. If the rows are close together, the plan of 
cultivating or discing to break up the soil is usually followed if the 
plantation is to be continued through" the following year and not 
removed to make room for another crop. Clean cultivation should 
be practiced throughout the season until the cover crops are sown 
or the fall rains begin. 

Strawberries. — Strawberries are usually grown on permanent beds 
raised slightly above the intervening spaces (fig. 4). The method 
of starting spring cultivation in this case is usually to break the 
ground with a one-horse cultivator. If grown under the level culture 
system (fig. 5), one or two shallow furrows may be plowed between 
the rows, turning the furrows toward the middle. More often, how- 
ever, the ground is broken with a single cultivator. In case the 
strawberries are mulched with straw or other mulching material, 
no cultivation is attempted. The spaces between the plants not 
covered by them should be hoed to break up the crust and to keep 
down the weeds. Cultivations should continue throughout the season 
to keep the plants in thrifty condition, 



CIRCULAR 164] SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 13 



IRRIGATION i 

An unfailing source of water is a requisite for growing berries 
of all kinds, as these fruits, except in a few districts are grown 
under irrigation. The practice is fairly standardized and consists 
in applying water every two or three weeks until the berries begin 
to ripen when the irrigations are given more frequently sometimes 
every four to six or seven days. After picking, the plantation is 
irrigated every few weeks during the fall until late in the season 





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Fig. 7. — Loganberries tied to a single wire trellis. The young shoots are 
allowed to grow under the row during the first season. 

when the plants are allowed to mature and become dormant. The 
necessity for frequent irrigation requires careful leveling or grading 
the land before planting in order that the water may be applied 
evenly and economically. 

With strawberries the practice is to fill the shallow ditches between 
the rows up to the level of the top of the raised bed upon which the 
plants are set. On steep grades small earth dams are thrown up 
across the ditch to give the entire row a uniform wetting. The 
middle of the beds are supposed to be moistened by lateral perco- 
lation but it is often doubtful if center portions are moistened suffi- 
ciently in cases where the rows are very wide. Experience indicates 

i For detailed information on the irrigation of small fruits see Irrigation 
Practice in Growing Small Fruits in California, by Wells A. Hutchins, Calif. Agr 
Exp. Sta. Cir. No. 154. 



14 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION 

that the strawberry plant should never be allowed to suffer from 
drought even for short periods. 

In the case of bush fruits the water is applied in small ditches 
on both sides of the row (fig. 6). This leaves a high middle portion 
between the rows which remains dry and serves as a place for the 
pickers to stand. Very often when the row becomes wide and filled 
with canes due to the unchecked growth of suckers the central 
portion is not wetted by the ordinary irrigation. There is a tend- 
ency on the part of many growers to hurry the water from one 
end of the furrow to the other and then to consider the work done. 
During the hot weather bush berries use a tremendous amount of 
water, most of which is taken from the upper 2 or 3 feet of soil. 
Exhaustion of moisture in this area is quickly shown by wilting of the 
leaves and shrivelling of the fruit. Lack of moisture during the grow- 
ing period materially shortens the picking season and reduces the crop. 

PEUNING 
The pruning of small fruits cannot be neglected for even a single 
season. Strawberries, which do not produce hard or woody stems 
cannot be considered as coming under this statement, their fruit- 
fulness in a measure depending upon the number of runners allowed 
to be produced from the old plants; hence they need regular atten- 
tion as much as do the bush fruits. The brambles, which include 
all small fruits in this circular with the exception of currants, goose- 
berries and strawberries, produce fruit usually but once on a cane of 
one season's growth. There are, however, a few varieties of this 
class of fruits like the Himalaya and Evergreen which have peren- 
nial canes. The canes which are necessary for the bearing of the 
crops are produced during one season, flower and bear fruit during 
the next, and must then be removed. Some varieties of raspberries, 
like the Ranere, bear fruit during the first season at the ends of 
the new canes. These ends which have fruited should be cut off at 
the regular pruning time. As soon as they have borne a crop of 
fruit their usefulness ends, and they usually die before winter. The 
aim of the grower in pruning should be to accomplish two things: 
first, to remove the old canes which are of no more value to the 
plant; and second, to provide a supply of new shoots for bearing 
fruit the following season. The new canes should not be left too 
thick. Wider spacing tends to allow the canes to grow tall and 
picking is thereby facilitated. The care of strawberries and the 
pruning of currants and gooseberries are different from the general 
directions given above and will be discussed in the paragraphs 
devoted to these fruits. 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



15 



Blackberries. — Blackberries are pruned in such a way that they 
may be tied to wire trellises, tied to upright stakes, or trained to 
grow upright without support of any kind. The varieties which 
trail or produce long runners that naturally lie on the ground are 
trained to wire stretched on posts, and the stronger upright-growing 




Fig. 8. — Trailing varieties are often woven around the trellis wires in 
loose spirals. 

varieties are tied to stakes or pruned short so that they are able 
to support their own weight. The length of the canes which are 
left to produce the following season's crop varies considerably with 
the variety and with the practice found to give the best results 
in different sections. Strong-growing varieties like the Lawton are 



16 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

usually pruned back to three or four feet. Trailing varieties like 
the Mammoth are cut back leaving 8 to 14 or 16 feet, depending on 
how far apart the plants are set in the row. It is a good practice to 
tip back or cut off the ends of the growing shoots during the summer 
as soon as they have reached the desired length. This tipping back 
tends to induce lateral branches to grow and thus increases the fruit- 
bearing area of the plant. 

New canes to take the place of the old ones removed after fruit- 
ing come up as suckers around the crown of the plant. More of these 
suckers are produced than should be allowed to grow. For most 
varieties from 4 to 7 new canes should be left to each hill and the 
remainder cut off close to the ground. The healthy and vigorous 
canes should be left and the small or inferior ones removed. This 
pruning should be done during the winter season. 

Trailing varieties are trained to one or two wire trellises. When 
one wire is used, it is stretched along stakes in the row at a height 
of 21/2 or 3 feet above the ground, and the canes are fastened to 
it by winding them around the wire or tying them to it (fig. 7). 
Another method which has proved successful is to use a two-wire 
trellis and weave the canes around both wires in a loose spiral, 
(fig. 8.) The canes should be spread on the wires and not twisted 
together, like strands in a wire cable. The new canes which grow 
during the season are allowed to lie on the ground under the row 
during the • growing season. During the winter pruning the old 
canes are cut and pulled off the wire and the new canes are brought 
up and tied in their place. Sometimes two wires are used, the 
lower one is 2 to 3. feet from the ground and the upper wire iy 2 
to 21/2 feet above the lower one. The young canes may be trained 
to the upper wire, and the bearing canes to the lower. This method 
provides shade for the fruiting canes and aids in producing berries 
of large size. Loganberries (including the Phenomenal variety), 
and dewberries are pruned and trained in the same manner as trail- 
ing blackberries. The general practice in many sections has. been 
to train these varieties on a single wire, extending the canes along the 
wire either in one or both directions from the crown of the plant. 
Number 14 guage. wire is used for, raspberries and : dewberries, and 
number i2 gauge, for the heavy growing sorts like Himalaya. 

Raspberries. — Both the red and the black varieties of raspberries 
are for the most part trained to stand alone. In some cases, when 
varieties are drooping in nature or a rank, heavy growth is produced, 
posts are set along the row and short cross-arms 18 or 20 inches 
in length are nailed at a convenient distance from the ground, 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



17 



usually 2y 2 to Sy 2 feet. Wires are stretched from post to post at 
the end of these cross-arms. The plants are pruned so as to grow 
up between these wires and are supported by them and, as a rule, 
no additional tying is considered necessary, (fig. 9). Blackberries 
may also be trained to this system. By means of short cross-pieces 
fastened to the wires, a number of different methods of training 
may be devised to suit local conditions. 



dNPci^v* f '11 Li 


■ t * 

■ A.% 




'•'^W 


tu. 


i -i 



Fig. 9. — Raspberries are partially supported by two wires stretched between 
short cross arms on the stakes. 



Raspberries produce their fruit in the same manner as do the 
blackberries, hence the old canes must be removed after fruiting. 
The plants are thinned to 3 to 6 or 7 canes to the hill and cut off 
about 3 to 4 feet above the ground, depending upon the nature of 
the growth made by the plant and the training system followed. 
Weak-growing varieties without supports must- be cut back- more 
heavily than the more sturdy sorts. Red raspberries produce large 
numbers of suckers which spring up from the roots, and, unless it 
it desired to have a more or less solid row, these suckers must be 
grubbed out with a hoe, and the plants maintained in single units. 

Currants and Gooseberries. — These fruits must be treated in an 
entirely different manner from that described for the brambles. The 



18 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

growing habit and method of bearing fruit of these two kinds of 
berries must be carefully studied in order to prune them correctly. 
The bushes of the currant and gooseberry are more compact in 
form and are treated more like tree fruit than are the brambles. 
New wood is produced both by the branching of existing limbs and 
by suckers which come up from the root. These suckers, however, 
come up near the crown of the plant and not promiscuously from the 
roots as in the case of some of the raspberries. The larger portion 
of the fruit is borne from short spurs on the two and three-year-old 
wood, a smaller amount being produced on the four and five-year-old 
wood. The pruning consists in removing the three and four-year-old 
wood, which is easily distinguished by the dark color, and by thin- 
ning out the new shoots when they are too thick. 

DURATION OF PLANTATION 

Small fruits come into bearing early, reach their maximum pro- 
duction in from three to five years, and then begin to decline. Very 
few of the bush fruits remain profitable after eight or ten years, 
while straw T berry plantations should be removed after the fourth 
or fifth season. The intensive cultivation given this class of fruits, 
as a rule, quickly exhausts the organic matter in the soil, leaving 
it in a poor physical condition. In addition to the foregoing reason, 
the presence of onf or more diseases in a field often makes it advis- 
able to plow up and burn all of the old plants and start a new plant- 
ing rather than to attempt to eradicate %e trouble in the existing 
plantation. 

Certain varieties of raspberries, like the Ranere, often produce 
a few berries the same year they are planted and usually bear a 
profitable crop the second season. Blackberries should produce a 
few berries the second season after planting, reach their maximum 
production in from three to five years, and should be removed in 
from seven to ten years, according to the character of the soil and 
the care given the plants. Loganberries often produce fairly heavy 
crops the second season after planting and remain profitable a number 
of years. Currants and gooseberries ordinarily do not produce crops 
until the third year, are at their best from the third to the sixth 
year, and should be removed not later than the ninth or tenth year. 
Strawberries normally produce their largest crops the second year, 
and should be removed after the fourth or fifth season. 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



19 



BERRIES AS INTERCROPS 

Because of the fact that berries provide a source of immediate 
income and occupy the soil for a limited length of time, they are 
used considerably as intercrops in orchards (figs. 4 and 5). If 
properly managed, no injury to the trees results and the grower 
has a source of revenue until the trees come into bearing. The 
chief danger from using berries as an intercrop in young orchards 
is that the welfare of the permanent planting may be forgotten in 
the effort to produce one or more crops after the bushes should be 




'vfW ' 



&> ■ : 



Fig. 10. — An expensive berry shelter is unnecessary. The lumber for the 
shed shown above, which takes care of three acres of berries costs approximately 
seven dollars. 



removed. Examples of poorly pruned, stunted trees are to be found 
in every section where berries have been used as intercrops. The 
care of the intercrop of berries should not interfere with the cultiva- 
tion, pruning, spraying, or general care of the trees; hence, where 
it is impossible to care properly for both the berries and the trees, 
the trees, rather than the temporary berry plants, should be given 
the proper attention. Truck crops like spinach, head lettuce, peas 
and beans are often grown between the rows of bush berries the 
first season. 



20 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION 



FEETILIZERS 

Berries, being shallow-rooted, remove a great quantity of plant 
food from the surface layers of the soil and this drain must be 
replenished by the addition of materials containing" the elements 
essential to plant growth. One of the best fertilizers that can be 
used for this class of fruits is an annual application of well-rotted 
barnyard manure. Several successful growers make a practice of 
adding well-rotted barnyard manure to the plantation at irrigation 
time. The manure is shoveled into the irrigation stream and dis- 
tributed to the plants by the water. Chicken manure should be 
composted with leaves or strawy material before using on the berry 
plantation. Complete commercial fertilizers, or those which contain 
potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen, can also be used successfully, 
although caution is advised in the application of any commercial 
product which contains a high percentage of quickly available nitro- 
gen, because of the fact that this element often stimulates leaf pro- 
duction while fruit-bearing is lessened. The use of nitrogen is said 
to produce soft fruit that does not stand shipping. This element, 
however, may be added to the soil by use of leguminous cover crops, 
such as vetch or bur clover, without so much danger of stimulating 
the vegetative vigor of the canes, with the added physical benefit 
of the organic matter which is incorporated in the soil at the same time. 

INSECTS AND DISEASES 

There are several serious insect pests and fungous diseases which 
injure berry crops. The heavy annual pruning to which berries are 
subjected (with the exception of the strawberry) in which the old 
wood and such new shoots that may show signs of disease or insect 
injury are removed, serves to hold some of these troubles in check. 
The comparatively frequent removal of the plantation also serves to 
prevent the permanent infestation of a given piece of ground. In 
many cases it is cheaper to pull out the old plants and reset with 
healthy ones in a new location than to combat these insects or fungous 
diseases by spraying or by other preventive measures. On the other 
hand, certain troubles can only be controlled by spraying. 

Brambles. — The most serious disease of the brambles with which 
the grower must contend, is the crown-gall or root-knot. This is a 
bacterial disease forming a warty growth on the roots and ultimately 
causing the death of the plants. This disease can only be held in 
check by planting clean stock when setting out new plantations and 
by removing and burning old plants which are infected in the older 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



21 



plantings. In some districts brambles become infected with oak 
fungus (Armillaria mellea). There is no remedy for this disease. 
As soon as the plantation is decimated so it is no longer profitable, it 
should be plowed out. Brambles are sometimes also infected with Leaf 
Spot which appears on the leaves as light colored dead spots with 




Fig. 11. — The twenty-drawer chest used in California for local shipments 
of small fruits. Each drawer holds a slide containing six small cups. 

reddish borders; and with Orange Rust which is shown by masses of 
bright orange spores on the lower surface of the leaves. The remedy 
is to cut out all infected canes at pruning time and to give the plants 
a thorough spraying with Bordeaux mixture during the dormant 
season. 



22 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

Kaspberries are often attacked by the Raspberry Horntail, the 
larvae of which girdle the tips of tender new shoots causing them to 
wilt. The wilted canes should be cut out and burned as soon as noticed 
and all canes showing any signs of the presence of borers should be 
removed at pruning time. The Rose Scale is occasionally found on the 
canes of blackberries and raspberries. Ordinarily the winter pruning 
serves to hold this insect in check, but in case of severe infestation the 
plantation should be sprayed in the winter with a distillate emulsion 
or lime-sulfur solution. 

The most serious pest on the brambles and the strawberry is a 
minute pale yellow mite with from two to six dark spots on its back 
commonly known as Red Spider (Tetranychus telarius). It is known 
by a number of names such as the Two-Spotted Mite, Yellow Mite and 
Summer Mite. It appears in early summer and does great damage to 
raspberries by causing the leaves to fall and the fruit to shrivel and 
dry. They spin webs on the under side of the leaves under which may 
be seen the eggs and adults in all stages of development. They feed 
upon the tissues of the plant, sucking the juice. As they spend the 
winter in the ground there is no way of control by spraying until they 
begin to appear with the approach of warm weather. Different forms 
of sulfur have been used to control this pest on tree fruits, but when 
tried on raspberries severe burning of the foliage usually results. 
Sulfur is not a safe remedy for red spider either on bush berries or 
strawberries. In a few isolated districts where the temperature is 
moderated by the influence of the San Francisco Bay, sulfur has been 
used with the minimum of injury, but only when the maximum tem- 
perature did not go above 80° to 85° F. The only treatment which 
seems promising for the brambles is a spray of clear water applied 
to the under sides of the leaves with considerable pressure when the 
mites are first seen, and followed by additional applications as condi- 
tions warrant. On strawberries, an application of sulfur on the 
ground close to but not on the plants gives some relief. 

The Himalaya blackberry and possibly several other varieties are 
often affected by a trouble known as ' ' Red Berry. ' ' The fruit grows 
to approximately full size, but does not mature, all or part of the 
drupelets remaining red and hard. This trouble is caused by a very 
minute animal known as Blister Mite. It is readily controlled by a 
spray of lime-sulfur at the rate of four gallons of lime-sulfur solu- 
tion to 100 gallons of water applied when the leaf buds are beginning 
to open in early spring. An additional spray during the summer of 
five pounds wettable sulfur to 100 gallons of water is also effective. 

Currants and Gooseberries. — Currants and gooseberries are 
troubled with mildew, which forms a whitish powdery growth on 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



23 



the new leaves and shoots, reducing the vigor of the plantings and 
ultimately affecting the size of the crop. This disease is usually con- 
trolled by dusting the plants several times during the early part of the 
season with flowers of sulfur, or by spraying with Bordeaux mixture 
as soon as the mildew appears. These two plants are also injured by 
the work of the currant borer. This insect works in the heart- wood 
of the branches or stem of the plant, which it either kills or injures 
to such an extent that these parts break down under the weight of 
the crop of fruit. The only remedy is to watch carefully for its work 
and remove all infested parts when pruning. 




Fig. 12. — Slide used on local markets for strawberries and bush-berries. 
The small single cup on the left is used for raspberries while the larger one 
on the right is for strawberries. 

Strawberries. — The strawberry is attacked by several serious dis- 
eases and insect pests. Leaf Spot causes irregular dead spots with 
red borders on the leaves. The leaves should be cleaned up and 
burned in the fall and the plants sprayed with Bordeaux mixture 
if the infection is serious. The Strawberry Aphis, a small pale yellow 
louse occurring on the under side of the leaves can be controlled by 
dusting liberally with five per cent Nico-dust. The Strawberry Crown 
Moth which is a white caterpillar boring into the crown of the plant is 
best controlled by removing and burning infested plants. The Straw- 
berry Root Weevil has only been found in California in one or two 
places. Areas known to be infested are quarantined. Suspicious cases 



24 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

should be reported immediately to the Department of Agriculture at 
Sacramento, California. 

The Red Spider also attacks strawberry plants, particularly if the 
plantation has been allowed to suffer for lack of water. Sulfur is 
very injurious to the foliage and should only be used as suggested in 
the paragraph for raspberries. 

At certain times berries of all kinds are injured by rots or molds 
which work on the ripe fruit on the vine or after it is picked. The 
only control is careful handling, by keeping the bruised or moldy 
berries separate from the sound fruit and by prompt cooling and 
shipment. 

HARVESTING 

Berries are the most perishable fruits that are now being grown 
on a commercial scale and cannot be handled in the same way as even 
the tender kinds of tree fruits. The length of time between reaching 
a stage of maturity when they are of highest quality for table use 
and when they begin to deteriorate is very short. The perishable 
nature of this class of fruit necessitates extremely careful handling, 
prompt shipping, and immediate consumption. No class of fruit has 
better flavor or quality when at the proper stage of ripeness or decays 
more quickly when not properly handled. 

Brambles. — The brambles should be picked often during the height 
of the season. During the early part of the picking season, the patch 
should be picked every three or four days, but when the berries 
begin to ripen faster, the entire patch should be picked each day. 
Berries should be picked directly into the box or cup in which they 
are sold, and should not be handled by regrading or sorting. The 
marketable grades should be picked directly into the market packages, 
and the soft fruit either picked into a separate receptacle or dropped 
on the ground. Berries crushed in picking should not be mixed with 
the sound fruit. The berries should not be left standing in the sun, 
but should be placed in the shade under a tree or in the packing house. 
No berries should be picked when wet from rain or fog. All fruit 
should be taken to market or shipping station as soon after packing 
as possible. The use to which the berries are to be put determines the 
exact stage of ripeness at which they should be* picked. Generally 
speaking, raspberries may be used for local or near-by markets when 
they separate from the ''core" without crumpling or falling apart. 
For long-distance shipments only the firmer berries should be used, 
while the softer grades are utilized for canning. Blackberries, logan- 
berries and other brambles in which the berry does not separate 
from the core or receptacle, for long-distance shipments must be 



Circular 164] 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 



25 



picked when hard and firm, though well colored. Fruit which is 
somewhat softer, although not mushy, may be used for local markets. 
The common package for marketing this class of fruits locally is the 
twenty-drawer chest (fig. 11), each drawer of which holds six small 
cups (fig. 12). Crates holding twelve 12-ounce boxes of strawberries 
or blackberries (fig. 13) are universally used for long-distance ship- 
ments and also, to a limited extent, in shipping to local markets. For 
raspberries shallow crates holding twelve 8-ounce boxes are used 
(fig. 13). 




Fig. 13. — Crates used for shipping berries. The deep upper crate contains 
twelve 12-ounce baskets for strawberries; while the shallow lower one contains 
twelve 8-ounce baskets for raspberries. The cleats on the ends prevent the 
crates from sliding lengthwise when stacked in the cars. 

Currants and Gooseberries. — Currants are usually harvested in two 
pickings. There is no danger of the fruit becoming soft under ordi- 
nary conditions, but during a period of hot weather injury from 
scalding often results. The danger of loss from this cause is reduced 
by making two pickings. The fruit is in right condition for picking 
when all the berries on the cluster are red. The cluster should be 
picked whole, and the berries not separated from the stem, as when the 
berries are picked from the cluster, the entire package is moistened 
with the juice which escapes and decay quickly follows. Gooseberries 
are sometimes picked by holding a portion of the bush in a gloved 
hand and picking with the bare hand. On a large scale they are 



26 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION 

picked by stripping the leaves and fruit into a shallow box and then 
removing the leaves by running the entire picking through a fanning 
mill which blows out the leaves and pieces of branches. As the fruit 
is picked while still hard and green, no injury results from this method 
of handling. 

Straivberries. — Strawberries are picked every day or two through- 
out the season. For long-distance shipment the berries are picked 
showing considerable green or white color, and while still very hard 
in texture. For nearby markets, the fruit must be well-colored but 
still firm and not mushy. Berries must be picked with the calyx 
attached and preferably a short portion of the stem. Strawberries are 
usually shipped to local markets in the twenty-drawer chest, each slide 
of which holds six 12-ounce cups, and to distant markets in crates 
holding twelve or twenty-four 12-ounce boxes. 

USES 

Berries are preeminently dessert fruits and for the most part are 
consumed in the fresh state. There is nothing more tempting than a 
dish of fresh strawberries or raspberries and the prices which the 
consumer is willing to pay for this class of fruit shows that it occupies 
an important place in the diet of many people. They are consumed 
in comparatively small quantities by individual families and the 
markets are easily over-supplied, particularly when there is an abun- 
dance of other fruits such as peaches, plums, and melons. It has been 
necessary, therefore, to develop new outlets to take care of the over- 
supply at the height of the picking season. This important side of the 
marketing problem has been successfully met in many sections. 

In recent years berries which have been carefully picked and 
promptly pre-cooled have been shipped from various points in Cali- 
fornia to the large cities of the middle west. A few shipments have 
been made as far east as New York under refrigerator express, and the 
fruit was reported to have reached the market in excellent condition. 
These shipments are only possible where modern pre-cooling facilities 
are available and the acreage is sufficiently large to enable the growers 
or association of growers to ship in carload lots. No such markets, 
of course, are available to growers in isolated districts or in sections 
where the daily output is 100 or 200 crates. 

Berries which are too ripe for shipment are sent to the cannery to 
be preserved or made into jams and jellies. The excess over the 
market demands are likewise disposed of in this manner. Many black- 
berries and loganberries are dried and sold to the bakery trade. In 



Circular 164] small fruit culture in California 27 

other cases the berries may be placed in the freezing rooms of cold- 
storage plants to be used later in making pies. A new process for 
handling strawberries has recently become prominent. It consists in 
placing the fresh ripe strawberries in paraffined wooden barrels in 
layers alternating with layers of sugar. When full the barrel is 
tightly sealed, frozen, and placed in cold storage or shipped in refrig- 
erator cars to eastern markets. The product is used principally at soda 
fountains. One grower has contracted to handle part of his rasp- 
berry crop in this manner. There is also a possibility of using logan- 
berries for the juice. 

VARIETIES 

The following is a brief description of the principal varieties of 
the different small fruits grown in California. It is not intended to 
be a complete reference to all varieties of small fruits, but simply a 
short discussion of the varieties now being grown or those considered 
worthy of trial : 

Blackberries 

Lawton. — Bush sturdy; erect; strong grower; heavy producer. 
Fruit is large, black, sweet and of excellent quality. Mid-season. A 
standard variety in California. 

Kittatinny. — Strong grower; hardy; productive. Fruit is large, 
glossy black, sweet and of good quality. Mid-season to late. Popular. 

Early Harvest. — Strong upright grower; hardy; good producer. 
Fruit is medium to small, sweet and of good quality. Season is early 
and fruit ripens over long period. Susceptible to leaf rust. Said 
to be self -fertile. 

Crandall. — Vigorous, hardy, very productive, ripens fruit over a 
long season in the coast region while in the interior valleys it is 
inclined to have a short season. Fruit is large, firm and sweet. Season 
early. Fair shipper. Popular in southern part of state. 

Wilson Junior. — Hardy, upright grower and productive. Fruit is 
large and black. Season early. 

Evergreen (Oregon Evergreen). — Bush vigorous, strong growing, 
drooping, perennial. Fruit is large, firm, and sweet, and of good 
quality. Season late to very late. Worthy of trial. 

Mammoth. — Extremely vigorous, fairly hardy, rapid grower, and 
a heavy producer. Flower is considered partly self -sterile. Canes are 
semi-trailing or trailing. Fruit is very large, long in shape, black, 
sweet and soft when fully ripe. Very popular in California, ripening 
early to mid-season, usually between the Loganberry and the Lawton. 
Often sold as a "Black Loganberry. ' ' 



28 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

Cory Thomless. — Extremely vigorous, hardy, strong grower, pro- 
ductive. Canes are semi-trailing, and occasionally have thorns. Fruit 
large, sweet when ripe, but inclined to be soft and difficult to handle, 
not suitable for long distance shipments. Becoming popular for local 
markets. Mid-season. 

Burbank Thomless. — Said to be a shy bearer in many districts. 

Macatawa. — Probably identical with Crandall. 

Hybrids 

Loganberry. — Canes are vigorous, hardy and exceptionally pro- 
ductive ; trailing in habit, covered with a large number of rather small 
spines. Fruit is long, large, dark-red in color, sub-acid in flavor and 
good in quality. Excellent for shipping or canning. Season early. 
Grown in nearly all berry sections of California. 

Phenomenal. — A variety of loganberry very similar to the original 
variety. Held by some growers to be indistinguishable from the orig- 
inal loganberry. Vines are strong, vigorous and productive. Fruit is 
large, long, red in color, sub-acid in flavor, larger than loganberry 
but softer in texture. Generally given same culture as loganberry. 
Ripens about a week later than the loganberry. 

Himalaya. — Bush extremely vigorous ; very spiny ; trailing or semi- 
trailing; perennial and heavy producer. Fruit is roundish in form, 
medium -size, and juicy. Season from June to late fall. 

Dewberries 

Gardena. — Vigorous grower; heavy producer. Fruit is large, 
glossy black, firm, sweet and delicious. Season early. Popular in 
southern part of state. 

Lucretia. — Hardy and productive; berries are large, sweet, black 
in color and soft ; said to ripen shortly after the Gardena. A general 
purpose variety. Self -fertile. 

Red Raspberries 

Cuthbert. — Hardy ; vigorous grower, with heavy foliage which pro- 
tects fruit from sunburn. A heavy and regular bearer. Fruit is deep 
red in color, large, conical, firm, separates readily from core and is a 
good shipper. 

Superlative. — New variety. Fruit is medium to large, excellent 
flavor and ripens over a long season. 



CIRCULAR 164] SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 29 

Antwerp. — An old variety, not generally planted in this state. 
Plants not vigorous except under favorable soil and climatic condi- 
tions. Fruit is dark red, firm, of excellent quality and a good shipper. 
Season early. 

Bauer e (St. Regis), also commonly called Ranaree. — Plant vigor- 
ous ; hardy, sends up suckers freely. Berries small to large, bright red, 
firm; season early and very long. Is what is termed a "dry" berry 
and is an excellent shipper. The leading variety in the central coast 
region of California. 

La France. — Recently introduced. Canes strong,- vigorous, pro- 
duces fruiting laterals freely. Berries very large, light red, excellent 
flavor and quality. Mid-season to late, sometimes producing until 
Thanksgiving. A prime dessert fruit. 

Surprise. — Canes rather slender, plant hardy. Bears through a 
long season. Berries medium in size and of good quality. Desirable 
for planting in central and southern parts of state. 

Black Raspberries 

Gregg. — Plants are strong, hardy and productive. Berries are 
medium in size, firm and sweet. Mid-season. The standard variety 
of black-caps for home or commercial planting. 

Kansas. — Strong; vigorous grower; hardy and productive. Fruit 
is early in season, medium size, black, firm and of good quality. 

Currants 

Cherry. — Bush is fairly vigorous, hardy, medium in size and a good 
bearer. Fruit is large, bright red and borne on rather stout, well- 
filled bunches. The leading variety in the central part of the state. 
Somewhat subject to attacks by mildew and cane borers. 

Fay. — A new variety, said to bear more abundantly than the 
cherry. Berries large, dark red, acid, early to mid-season. Easy to 
pick. 

Perfection. — A new variety, grown very successfully in eastern 
currant districts. Bush is vigorous, healthy, strong-growing and very 
productive. Berries are large, bright red, borne on long well-filled 
bunches, flavor acid. Worthy of trial in this state. 

Bed Cross. — Berries large, firm, light red in color, flavor mild sub- 
acid, clusters large, easy to pick. Mid-season. It is reported that the 
fruit cracks some seasons. 



30 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION 

Pomona. — Bush is vigorous, hardy and a good producer. Berries 
are medium in size, red and hang well after ripening. 

White Grape. — One of the white varieties. Manner of growth and 
bearing same as that of red currants. Does not yield as heavily as 
red varieties and does not have the brisk acid flavor of the former. 
Grown principally for home use. 

Gooseberries 

Downing. — Bushes are vigorous, sturdy and productive. Berries 
are medium to large, oval in shape, smooth, yellow sprinkled with red 
dots when ripe. Flavor sweet and pleasant when fully ripe. A good 
market variety. 

Houghton. — One of the oldest varieties. Bushes are strong-grow- 
ing, long-lived and productive. Berries are small, roundish, dull red 
when fully ripe, skin smooth and thin. Ripens in advance of the 
Downing. Chief disadvantage of this variety is the small size of the 
berry. Resistant to mildew. 

Champion. — Bush is a strong grower and a prolific bearer. Berries 
are medium size, smooth, roundish-oval, sweet when fully matured. 
Resistant to mildew. 

Industry. — One of the English varieties. Bush is vigorous, upright, 
and a good bearer. Berries large and dark red when ripe. Subject 
to mildew. 

Berkeley. — Bush is fairly vigorous grower and good bearer. 
Berries are very large and ripen early. An English variety and 
subject to mildew. 

Strawberries 

Marshall. — Plant is vigorous, healthy and a good producer of new 
plants. Flower, perfect. Fruit is medium to large, dark red, flesh 
somewhat lighter in color, firm, roundish-conic in shape. Grown in 
Fresno district, upper interior valleys and in Watsonville district. 

Jessie. — Average in size and vigor; fairly good plant producer; 
good bearer. Flower, perfect. Fruit is medium to below in size, 
roundish conic, dark red ; flesh, red and firm. Grown in Fresno district 
and upper interior valleys. 

Gold Dollar. — Medium in size and vigor ; erect ; good plant maker. 
Flower perfect. Fruit rather elongated conic, dark red; flesh, some- 
what lighter, firm. Grown almost exclusively in the Florin and New- 
castle section. Ripens early and produces over a long period. 



CIRCULAR 164] SMALL FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 31 

Malinda. — Plant is inclined to be small; fair plant producer. 
Flower, perfect. Fruit is small in size, conic in shape ; flesh is a dark 
red, firm and has a firm core. Grown, with others, in Pajaro Valley. 

Oregon. — Plant is medium in size, vigorous, erect, good plant 
maker and a heavy producer. Flower, perfect. Fruit, medium to 
large, broad conic, dark red; flesh, medium red and inclined to be 
soft. Popular in Pajaro and Santa Clara valleys, and in the Sebas- 
topol section. Ripens early. 

Klondike. — Vigorous and fairly good plant maker; fair producer. 
Flower, perfect. Fruit is of fair size, roundish, dark red, firm and a 
good shipper. Largely planted in region around Los Angeles. 

Nick Ohmer. — Medium in size and vigor; is a fair producer and 
plant maker. Flower, perfect. Fruit is medium to large in size, 
roundish-conic, medium red and soft, flavor mild sub-acid. Grown in 
districts adjacent to San Francisco. One of the best shippers in that 
region. 

Brandywine. — Medium in size, compact, a fair producer and plant 
maker. Flower, perfect. Fruit conic in shape, light to medium red 
and firm and a good shipping variety. Season is medium to late. 
Largely grown in Los Angeles section. 

Excelsior. — Vigorous; a medium producer and a good plant pro- 
ducer. Flower, perfect. Fruit is medium in size, conic, medium red 
and firm. Grown in Los Angeles section. Sharply acid in flavor but 
very early. 

Banner. — Plant is vigorous, upright, a good plant maker and an 
exceptionally heavy producer. Flower, perfect. Fruit is large in 
size, roundish-conic, dark red in color becoming almost purple when 
fully ripe. The leading variety in the central coast district. 

Magoon. — Plant is large and vigorous, a good plant maker and 
producer. Flower, perfect. Fruit medium to very large, often 
irregular in shape, dark red in color, inclined to be soft. Said to be 
adapted to heavy soils. Good for home gardens in the central coast 
sections. 



